Sabrina Starr has a 16-year-old son, Brandon, who's a little confused by his mom these days.

They moved from Vero Beach to Tampa earlier this year so he could have the opportunity to pursue what she calls her son's passion: skateboarding."

Yet Sabrina is one of the most active members of the Vero Beach Skatepark Alliance, a group that sought and gained city approval to build the Vero's first facility for skateboarders, in-line skaters and BMX bikers.

"He asks me 'Why are you doing so much to make this happen? We don't even live there anymore," Sabrina says. "And I tell him, 'First off, our family will be there forever and wouldn't it be nice to have a skate park when you visit?'

"But I also tell him, 'Think of all the kids like you who need this in their life. I'm doing this for the future yous.'"

Sabrina graduated from St. Edward's and her family owns and operates The Majestic Theatre.

"We have deep roots here," she says, "But we were constantly leaving Vero to pursue skateboarding. (Brandon is) getting life lessons through skating — on teams, interacting with sponsors: psychology, sociology, business, anger management — and he's learning physics, whether he wants admit that or not. I feel like it's an outlet that is keeping him away from a lot of bad things.

"Kids in Vero just aren't getting those opportunities."

Fresh start

Cory Taylor didn't grow up in Vero Beach, but he came here "to try and find a fresh start," said his mom Kathy Taylor, who was thrilled with the part skateboarding had always played in his life.

"Skateboarding is a wholesome activity that encourages kids who are creative in the first place do something athletic — it's something outside the box for kids who don't fit into the box," she said.

But the young man she affectionately calls her "skate rat" died last year at the age of 26.

"This park is something he hoped for so much," Kathy said. "It's a wonderful project."

It took her a while after Cory's death to prepare herself for his memorial. As she watched the plans for the skate park progress through the city-approval process, she made a decision.

"I kept putting off the service until the vote went through," she said. "People were asking me if they could send flowers and I didn't want that. So I asked them to make a contribution to the skate park."

First contribution

About $1,000 in memorial contributions was raised on Easter Eve this year, five years to the day after Cory moved to Vero.

Saskia Fuller is the mom who put the Alliance together. She clearly remembers the call from Taylor that led to that first big contribution towards the $1 million in private contributions that are needed to build the park.

"When I talked to Kathy, she told me it was important to her because having a skate park in Vero might have saved her son's life," Fuller recalls. "I didn't understand that then, but I do now."

Don't tell anybody

Fuller knew that it was an infection following heart surgery that killed Cory. But what Taylor hadn't initially shared was that those medical complications were brought on by his addiction to heroin.

"It wasn't his skate friends he was getting it from, that's for sure," said Taylor. "Most of those kids don't even smoke because it'll cut their wind. They are athletes. No — he hid it from them. He hid it from everyone he cared about."

During his last hospital stay, when Cory revealed to his mother and the doctors that he was still using, Taylor says, "He was so embarrassed. He turned to me as he was laying in bed and said, 'You're not telling anybody, are you?'

She respected his wishes for a while. But now she finds "comfort where there is none," by telling his story in the hope she can change things — for all the future Corys.

A place of their own

All of these women — and many more moms just like them — have done their time in the car, driving all over the state to bring their children to skate parks.

"There's a huge skate community here," says Beachland Elementary teacher Sam Crisafulli. Her son Enzo, 9, is one of them. "I teach fifth-grade here, and they're all skate rats."

When she heard about the Skatepark Alliance on Facebook, she brought Enzo and her daughter Uma, 5, to the city council meetings to show their support.

"We drive to the skate park in Fort Pierce all summer long, paying money to another county," she said. "So when I heard this was happening, I decided we would do anything I could do to support it. I mean, we go to parking lots right now. It's just not safe."

It's also against the law to skateboard almost everywhere in Vero. That's what frustrated — and inspired — Fuller to begin this endeavor a year ago.

"Vero has nothing to offer these kids, no place to enhance their skills," says Starr. "They need somewhere to skate, where it's safe and I know where he is."

All the moms talk about the encouraging communities that spring up around skate parks.

"The kids Brandon is hanging out with are responsible," says Starr. "They make this a lifestyle — they choose it as their sport. And they help each other get better. It's a very encouraging community."

Family

Crisafulli describes the Alliance as "A bunch of loving families — and moms — who want to get their kids away from screen time and staying at home. In my house, we made the mistake of giving too much of that and there were bad personality changes. So we've gotten rid of all that and are spending a lot more time outside.

"As a teacher, I see so many kids who should be outside. I feel like, after the park is built, there are lots of opportunities for programs we could put in place to help working parents — and keep those kids active."

From the start, Fuller has envisioned the skate park as a community gathering spot. The plans also include places for parents and friends to watch and she felt it was vital for the design to accommodate every skill level.

"Like with any other sport, you're only as good as your practice space — so we wanted something that would appeal to the very skilled or beginners."

Kathy Taylor remember Cory watching the big kids back in Ohio, learning the moves and immersing himself in a sport, for the first time.

"Everybody is not cut out to be a quarterback," says Taylor. "Skaters are creative, expressive people. And if Vero will give them a place to skate, they'll skate there."

The Vero Beach Skatepark Alliance will be holding its first fundraiser at the Stamp on May 29, from 12-8 p.m. There will be skate demos and live music. Only people 21 will be admitted.

For the younger skate supporters, there will be a screening of "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles — Out of the Shadows," on June 5 at the Majestic Theatre.

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